


Home

by tietouch



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, More characters to come, this was better in my head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 01:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3630891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tietouch/pseuds/tietouch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all things that could have happened, Kaneki never expected that he’d meet Hide in Anteiku like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> still denying the fact that root A episode 12 happened.
> 
> no no no it didn't happen.

Of all things that could have happened, Kaneki never expected that he’d meet Hide in Anteiku like this.

It was cold, mostly from the snow outside—and it was silent, it almost feels like the raid didn’t happen before. And he was there, with Hide, back in Anteiku—although the café was dark, he could still see the movement of the blond-haired man behind the counter.

Many questions flooded Kaneki’s brain, almost making him dizzy at the thought of it. Why was Hide here? Why was he dressed in the CCG battle suit? How did they get there? Does that mean Hide knows?

“Making coffee sure is hard, huh,” Hide muttered, breaking the silence over them while carrying two cups of tea to the nearby table. He set one down, and then drank the coffee in other cup that he was still holding with his right hand. Kaneki could see Hide’s wince after drinking that. “And it tastes like crap too, damn.”

Kaneki couldn’t really pin it down—but something was wrong.

He could smell blood. It was pretty dark, he couldn’t really see anything beside Hide’s face, but he could still smell it. It wasn’t his. His blood’s scent wasn’t like this—  
… Was it Hide’s?

“—telling me—oi, Kaneki. Are you listening to me?” Hide’s voice broke his train of thoughts again that time, and the white-haired boy blinked. Hide was still standing there, a few meters ahead of him, with that slight frown on his face.

“You’re not listening to me, aren’t you,” Hide muttered, taking a step closer. His voice was serious this time, the faint cheerfulness from before was gone. “I knew it already, man—the fact that you are a ghoul, I mean.”

… Ah.

“…” Kaneki was silent, unable to look into Hide’s eyes anymore. Somehow he found that the dark floor underneath him was much more interesting to look at. “… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Hide asked then, and that faint cheerfulness was back into his voice. The blond took another step closer, and now Kaneki could smell the scent of blood again. “Don’t apologize, geez, you’re always like that.”

He could see Hide’s hesitation for awhile, but then he felt the weight of Hide’s hand on his shoulder. He blinked, bringing back his gaze to Hide’s eyes, and he found the blond smiling.

“Let’s just go home already, man.”

Kaneki blinked, and Hide squeezed his shoulder a little. For a moment, he felt safe—like he was finally home with Hide. “Let’s go home. Forget about the ghoul business for a while, hiding from the CCG—” Hide paused to take a deep, shaky breath. “—just—let’s go home, man.”

Hide’s grip on his shoulder tightened, and Kaneki noticed on how the blond’s expression turned quite pained. And then he could hear the faint sound of blood dripping, and that scent was back.

That blood—he remembered it, he remembered that scent faintly. It was like he was back on the alley with Nishio, when the older man was hurting Hide in front of him back then. He remembered that scent. It was the smell of Hide’s blood.

“Hide—” Kaneki started, gripping Hide’s elbows tightly. “Are you—are you injured?”

There wasn’t any answer, but then Hide’s legs gave out. A loud gasp escaped Kaneki’s lips as he tried to support Hide’s weight, but then they were on their knees. Hide was panting harshly, and then giving Kaneki a weak chuckle.

“Sorry, I—” Hide coughed out, his free hand went to cover the left side of his body. “I… I got a little bit reckless back there.”

Oh God.

Just then Kaneki noticed that the left side of Hide’s body was bleeding—and he could feel his blood ran cold at the sight of the wound. Oh God, why didn’t he notice this sooner, what if Hide’s dying right now, what if he couldn’t survive? 

“Hide, you—” _You’re an idiot_ , Kaneki wanted to say, but this wasn’t the time to say that. Hide was probably dying on his arms now. He bit his lower lip, holding down the words he really wanted to utter to the blond. Kaneki shifted their position a little, so now his arms are under Hide’s knees. “You need to go to the hospital.”

Hide’s eyes widened at that, and he shook his head frantically. “What the heck, Kaneki—are you an idiot? I’m okay!”

“Are _you_ an idiot, Hide?” Kaneki half growled, and Hide looked surprised at that. “You’re injured—you’re probably bleeding yourself to death, and you said that you’re _okay_?”

Hide was silent, but he didn’t deny Kaneki’s words this time. He looked right into Kaneki’s eyes, and for a moment, he looked pretty sad.

“I’ll be fine for a moment. It wasn’t that bad,” Hide whispered, closing his eyes slightly. “I just want to go home with you, damn it—we could talk about the injury later,” the blond paused, taking a deep breath before locking his gaze back with Kaneki’s. “If we go straight to the hospital, they’ll arrest you—I don’t want that to happen. Besides, it didn’t hurt.”

 _Are you honestly going to lie to me now_ , Kaneki wanted to scream, but he didn’t. He took a deep breath instead, shaking his head slightly before standing up, carrying Hide in his arms.

“Fine. Let’s go home now, Hide.”

-x-

Hide felt like he should really listen to Kaneki’s words before.

Sure, he told Kaneki that the wound didn’t hurt at all—but damn; although it was a good lie, he still feels like dying right now.

Hide barely registered it when Kaneki lowered his body into his couch—when did they finally arrive in Hide’s apartment? Well, that wasn’t his concerns right now—and the white-haired man was out of sight for a moment. Hide sighed, looking up into his dark ceiling with blurry eyes.

Kaneki was true, then. What if he didn’t make it? The wound hurts like hell, damn it—

“I told you to go to the hospital, didn’t I,” Kaneki’s voice broke his thoughts, and Hide opened his eyes. When did he close them?

Hide looked to his side to see Kaneki standing in front of his bedroom, carrying his first aid kit box and a bowl—probably filled with water—with a piece of cloth on it. Oh. So that was where he disappeared into. “Hey, man,” Hide started, wincing a little when he found his voice was a little bit hoarse. “Good to see you home.”

Kaneki inhaled deeply, and then he sighed. He walked closer to the couch Hide was sitting on, sitting on his knees as he opened the first aid kit box.

“Good to be home, too,” Kaneki muttered, rummaging through the box to retrieve a bottle of alcohol and bandages from the box and set the box aside. The white-haired man bit his lower lip, then looking back at Hide. “Could you—uh, open your clothes? I need to tend your wounds.”

Hide wanted to throw a remark about Kaneki’s request, probably joking a little about Kaneki’s straightforwardness or something like that—but the worry in Kaneki’s eyes made him bit it back down. He opened his shirt, wincing when his wound throbbed as he did.

“It—it looks bad, Hide,” Kaneki muttered after Hide opens his clothes, and the blond could notice that Kaneki’s voice was shaky. Kaneki took the cloth inside the bowl, turning to clean Hide’s wound with it. “Why—why didn’t you agree with me to go to the hospital…?”

As Kaneki cleaned his wound, Hide could feel that the white-haired man’s hand was shaky. Oh, God, he felt bad now. He was about to say something when Kaneki spoke again, “You—you look like you lost a lot of blood too… Why don’t you—you’re okay now, but what if you didn’t make it?”

Kaneki’s voice shook even more—if that was possible—and Hide sighed. “Hey,” he whispered, placing his hand on top of Kaneki’s—the one which was still cleaning his wounds. Kaneki stopped, and he looked up to stare at Hide with a pair of glassy grey eyes—and okay, that made Hide’s heart clench too.

“I’ll be fine,” Hide said, caressing Kaneki’s hand with his thumb. “If I’m not—then we’ll go to the hospital. I won’t protest then.”

Kaneki took a deep breath before he nodded, continuing in cleaning Hide’s wound before he dabbed the wound with the alcohol and wrapped it with the bandages. When he was done, he exhaled shakily, leaning into the side of Hide’s legs slightly. He could feel tears gathering in his eyes, and then he felt Hide’s hand on top of his head, caressing it softly.

“It’s okay. You’re home.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little bit carried away _(:'3_ So yeah, more characters to come. Still.
> 
> Also, unbeta-ed so any typos or grammar mistakes are mine! And I don't own Tokyo Ghoul too. Yeah.

Hide couldn’t remember what happened later after Kaneki cleaned his wounds—but when he opened his eyes; he was staring into his room’s ceiling.

The room was dark, like how he left it before he went with CCG to the Anteiku Raid. The only source of light—although it was dim—in that room was from the small window of his room. He turned his head to the side a little to look outside the window, noticing that snow was still falling quietly from the sky. It wasn’t dark, fortunately—he could see the warm ray of light seeping from thick clouds and illuminates his dark room.

Being more awake as time passed, Hide could feel something warm and heavy on the side of his bed, so he turned his head around and blinking in surprise to see a head topped with white hair leaning against his side. Kaneki was sleeping there, sitting uncomfortably on the floor with his head resting on his hands, leaning against the side of Hide’s bed.

Although the room was dimly lit by the sunlight from outside, Hide could still see Kaneki’s face and state. Even sleeping like that, the boy looked tired—he had noticed it back when they met in Anteiku, but up close like this, he could see the dark bags under Kaneki’s eyes even better than before. He knows his condition wasn’t even any better than Kaneki, but still, it hurts him to see his best friend like that.

Kaneki was still wearing his battle suit— _doesn’t he feel cold in that backless suit? Why wasn’t he cold? Was he even comfortable, sleeping in that position? Whoa_ —and Hide holds back the urge to wake Kaneki up and tell him to change into some warm and comfortable clothes. As much as he wanted Kaneki to be warm, he doesn’t want to disturb Kaneki’s sleep—he looked tired enough for Hide to let him sleep.

But he couldn’t resist the urge to extend his hand and placing it on top of Kaneki’s head, and a small smile appeared on his lips as he recognized that Kaneki’s hair was still as same as before—it was still soft. It was in a different color from the years he spent with Kaneki—it wasn’t black anymore, it was shock white, but still—it was as soft as he remembered it to be. He stroked the other’s hair, feeling the softness of the strands as he did—and when Kaneki stirs, he stopped.

Kaneki blinked groggily as he woke up; rubbing his eyes with his hands as he tried to be more awake. For a moment, Hide swore that he could see guilt and fear mixed together in Kaneki’s tired face—but when the white haired man’s gaze fell on him; it was a surprised look that was present on his features.

“Hide,” Kaneki breathed out, blinking a few times—as if he wasn’t sure if he was already awake or not. The surprised look was still there, although Kaneki’s shoulders looked a little less tense than before. “Hide—you’re awake.”

Hide blinked, taking a deep breath before responding to Kaneki. “Yeah,” he said, wincing a little when he found his voice a little bit hoarse. “I’ve been awake for about five minutes now.”

“Ah,” Kaneki whispered, getting up from his uncomfortable position to walk to Hide’s desk. Hide propped himself up a bit—wincing at the pain on his side as he did—before leaning against his headboard a little, and he could see Kaneki taking a glass of water that was placed on top of it. Kaneki returned to the side of his bed, offering the glass to Hide and he accepted it gladly before he drinks the water.

“How… How do you feel now?” Kaneki asked after Hide finished drinking, taking the glass back and holding it with both of his hands. Hide lifted his eyebrows at Kaneki’s question, tilting his head to the side.

“I’m good—well, my stomach still hurts a little, but that’s it. What is it?” Hide asked back, and Kaneki looked down after Hide asked that. The white haired boy was biting his lower lip slightly, that guilty look was back again on his face.

“It was… You… Well, after I tended your wound last night, you went unconscious pretty fast,” Kaneki whispered; his voice so low that if the room weren’t as quiet as it is, probably Hide wouldn’t be able to hear it. Kaneki inhaled shakily, and Hide could notice that his voice came out rather shaky as well. “And you were running a fever after that—I was—I was scared… I want to take you to the hospital, but when I wanted to take you to the hospital; it was snowing pretty hard, and I—”

“Ah,” Hide said, automatically shutting Kaneki off, and then he extended his hand to stroke Kaneki’s hair again. _‘His shoulders were trembling,’_ Hide thought, _‘maybe he’s an inch away from crying.’_ Hide took a deep breath, lifting the corner of his lips upwards to form a smile. “Alright, alright, just forget about that, will you? I’m alright now, see?”

Kaneki didn’t respond, instead he bit his lower lip as he let Hide stroke his hair. Even though the light in the room was still dim—Kaneki hadn’t flicked the light switch yet, anyway—but Hide could see the tears that start to gather in Kaneki’s eyes. 

“Kaneki,” Hide called out, and a frown appeared on his face when the boy didn’t respond. He stopped stroking Kaneki’s hair to place his hand on Kaneki’s cheek, his fingers moving to force the white haired boy’s head upwards. Kaneki still refused to meet Hide’s eyes, and the blond frowned deeper. “Kaneki, buddy, hey. Look at me.” 

Lips still caught between his teeth, Kaneki finally looked up—and Hide was met with glassy grey eyes. Somehow this reminded him of the night before, when he was half conscious and Kaneki was tending his wounds—the boy looked like this, too, that time. “I told you I’m okay. If I’m not, I won’t be awake like this. Or do you want me to go to the hospital to do some check up?” 

Kaneki took another deep breath, and he nodded. He closed his eyes, and with his hand on Kaneki’s cheek, Hide could feel that the tears are starting to escape Kaneki’s eyes. “Y—yeah, please. I—I just...” Kaneki paused, looking down once again. “I just want you to be safe and—and alive.” 

“Alright, whatever you want, buddy,” Hide said, patting Kaneki’s shoulder before smiling again. “And shouldn’t you change into normal clothes before we go?” 

-x-

Hide knew that he shouldn’t be surprised to see that his clothes suits Kaneki perfectly—but still, he found that quite surprising.

Even back then, their size difference weren’t significant. They were almost at the same height, with Kaneki shorter for a few centimeters and thinner than Hide. That was what made Hide’s clothes looked bigger on Kaneki’s, even though they were almost at the same size.

But now, Hide’s clothes fitted Kaneki _perfectly._

After taking some breakfast, Hide had tucked Kaneki into his clothes, and then wrapped him in a warm coat—and somewhat surprisingly enough for him, Kaneki didn’t protest at all—before they were ready to go. Kaneki had hesitated a little for not wearing an eyepatch before they went— _what if I lost control somehow, Hide?_ —but then Kaneki decided to let that problem go for this time and he made Hide going to the hospital as his first priority.

The walk to the closest hospital from Hide’s apartment wasn’t long, but Hide felt pretty tired as they reached the hospital. Hide suspected it was the side effect of blood loss he experienced the day before, and he hoped it wouldn’t be serious.

The queue in the hospital wasn’t too long, so they didn’t have to wait so long to get Hide checked. Hide was pretty damn relieved to found that what he suspected was true—he was only suffering from blood loss and required blood transfusion immediately, and the doctor eyed them suspiciously before he continue to examine Hide—and he only need to stay there for awhile for blood transfusion.

During Hide’s treatment, Kaneki kept holding Hide’s free hand in his hands.

Fortunately for them, the transfusion didn’t take too long. They went home not long after Hide’s treatment was finished, and as they walked home together, Hide could notice on how Kaneki looked way more tired than before. But he looked pretty relieved too, so Hide concluded that probably Kaneki looked tired because he was staying up late on keeping a watch on him—Kaneki told him earlier before they left for the hospital—and Hide noted to tell Kaneki to get a rest as soon as they reached his apartment.

As they got closer to Hide’s apartment, Kaneki yawned—and Hide couldn’t hold back his chuckle.

“If you’re tired, I can carry you from here, _princess,_ ” Hide teased, placing his hand on his best friend’s shoulder and tugging him closer. “You looked like you’re about to sleep in your walk.”

“Don’t call me princess,” Kaneki protested as he tried to stifle a yawn, “And you’re still wounded, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Carrying you isn’t stupid,” Hide chirped, feeling happy that he could joke with Kaneki again now, “It’s the form of my _love._ ”

Kaneki snorted out, laughing a little at Hide’s words. He shook his head as he tilts it to the side slightly. He looked back at Hide, who was grinning at him.

“You’re _ridiculous_ ,” Kaneki chuckled softly, and Hide grinned even wider. Hide was pretty satisfied now, as he saw that Kaneki could smile again—even just for a tiny bit.

“You’re saying that, but actually you miss me, don’t you?" Hide teases, and he quickly regretted what he said as soon as he saw Kaneki’s expression fell. They stopped, just a few meters away before Hide’s apartment—really, Hide could see his apartment’s door already—and Kaneki was looking down. The snow had stopped when they left to go to the hospital, but it started to snow again.

“...” Kaneki was silent, and Hide drank in the way snow falls on his white hair and God it looked beautiful— _Kaneki looked pretty like that_. Kaneki closed his eyes, and Hide guessed that he will probably shed a tear again or something—but then the white haired boy smiled softly. “Yeah. I... I miss you so much, Hide.”

Although he was smiling, there was a hint of sadness in Kaneki’s voice, and it made Hide’s heart clench a little. Kaneki opened his eyes again, looking up and staring straight into Hide’s eyes.

“What matters now that I’m home with you again, right?”

Hide was surprised by Kaneki’s words; he was ready to reassure Kaneki that he's finally _home_ with him again—but as Kaneki said that, he knew that it won't be necessary. Hide's expression softens into a smile, and he reached out to ruffle Kaneki's hair.

“Heh. Now you realized that you’re home with me, right?” Hide said, ruffling Kaneki's hair even more. They boy didn't protest, just chuckling a little and he nodded. “Now let’s get into my apartment before the snow worsens, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Kaneki responded, and they walked back to Hide’s apartment together. They didn’t say anything as they walked back, and when they finally got in, Kaneki yawned again.

“Hey, man. Are you that sleepy?” Hide asked, tilting his head to the side as he opened his coat. Kaneki rubbed his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

“Not really, actually,” Kaneki mumbled, starting to undo the buttons of his— _Hide’s_ —coat. He yawned again as he walked to Hide’s couch, slumping on it. “Maybe I'm just... Tired.”

“Tired, huh?” Hide mumbled back, getting into his room to hang his coat before walking back to the small living room. Kaneki was sitting—or more like half-lying on the sofa, his head resting on the armrest and half of his body was sitting on the sofa. Hide briefly wondered if Kaneki grew a weird sleeping habit in uncomfortable positions, but he suspected that probably Kaneki did that only when he's pretty tired. His eyes are closed, but his breathing wasn't calm enough for him to be asleep, so Hide called out again, “Do you want some coffee?”

Kaneki shifted a little, rubbing his eyes with his hands before nodding. “Mhm, coffee sounds good.”

Hide didn't waste any time, making coffee as fast as possible—and he prayed silently that it wouldn't taste as crappy as the one he made back then in Anteiku. After a few minutes of making the coffee, Hide went back to the living room—and Kaneki was still on the same position as when he left him.

“Kaneki,” Hide called out, and Kaneki shifted a little. The blond placed the coffee cup on the small table in that room, shaking Kaneki’s shoulder slightly. “Hey. If you're tired, why don't you sleep now? It's starting to get dark soon; anyway, I might just get some sleep too.”

At the mention of sleeping, Kaneki opened his eyes—fast enough that it surprised Hide—and in a swift motion, Kaneki was sitting on the couch. Kaneki blinked quickly, as if to pry out sleepiness from his systems, but somehow Hide could see that it didn't work.

“Touka-chan,” he mumbled, “I haven’t told Touka-chan that we survived.”

“Touka-chan? Can't you do that tomorrow? You’re tired, aren’t you?” Hide asked, and Kaneki groans a little before he rubs his face with his hands.

“She must be worried,” he mumbled softly, and it sounded a little bit muffled because he covered his face with his hands. Hide could still hear him, anyway. “I planned to go check up on her and Hinami-chan alone after we were finished back in the hospital, but I forgot about it—”

“Then let’s go tomorrow. I’ll go with you,” Hide cut him off, patting Kaneki’s shoulders a few times. “You looked really tired, man, get some sleep! You don’t want to worry her even more by showing with tired face like that, don’t you?”

Kaneki sighed, rubbing his face once again and then he nods. “Yeah—yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s wait until tomorrow. I’ll just—get some sleep here...”

“ _Here_ , as in on the couch?” Hide asked, eyebrows furrowing in a frown—and Kaneki looked at him with a weird expression, as if he was saying that Hide’s question was weird.

“… Yeah, where else I would sleep?” Kaneki asked, as if that was very obvious, and Hide frowned even deeper.

“You could sleep in my bed, you know,” Hide crosses his arms. “It’s not like we haven’t ever slept together in the same bed before, right.”

Kaneki was silent, but his eyes were wide with surprise. “Are you crazy?” Kaneki asked, and his voice shook when he asked that. “You—you idiot, you do realize that I’m a—a—a _ghoul_ , right? There is a _high_ possibility that I will harm you when we sleep—”

“Psh, so what,” Hide pouted a little, and Kaneki’s lips thinned as he wanted to voice out another protest. “No, no, don’t argue with me. I don’t care if you're a ghoul or that you could probably attack me in my sleep—all I see in my room right now is my _friend_ , Kaneki Ken.”

Kaneki looked like he wanted to protest, but when Hide sent him a glare; he looked down to the coffee cup that was on the table. It started to get cold, Hide could notice.

“But I—what if I got you killed,” Kaneki whispered, and for now, Hide wasn't sure on how to respond to that. “I don’t want to lose you, Hide. I don’t know what to do if you’re not with me.”

 _‘And don't you think that I felt like that too when you disappeared for months,’_ Hide wanted to argue, but he just pressed his lips together to form a thin line. He sighed instead, moving to sit beside Kaneki on the couch.

“Shush, don’t think that you’ll lose me or something,” Hide said, placing an arm around Kaneki’s shoulders and pulling him closer. He could feel Kaneki’s body tensed a little from his touch, but then his shoulders started to shook and Hide heaves another sigh. He needed to stay calm. _Calm, Nagachika, calm._ “If you’re still scared, I'll help you. I'll help you to stay as yourself—as the Kaneki Ken that I know. I won’t run, and I won’t let you go. I promise.”

Kaneki took in a deep, shaky breath, and the white haired boy bit his lower lip. “Why—why do you have to be this kind, Hide? I don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t say something like that, you little—” Hide gritted out, “You’re my friend, _dumbass,_ I would like help you whenever you need my help, damn it!”

The room was silent after that—Kaneki looked pretty surprised at that, and Hide ruffled his own hair as he groaned in irritation. He tried to stay calm, really—but he was tired enough to raise his voice like that.

“Look, can we discuss about this kind of thing tomorrow or sometime later? We’re both tired now, Kaneki,” Hide groaned, and Kaneki looked away in guilt. “Let’s just sleep together in my bed for tonight. We’ll discuss about the other things later.”

Kaneki only nods—and Hide took the chance to grab Kaneki’s hand and half-drags him into his bedroom.

After they went into the room, Hide rummages through his wardrobe and then he lent his clothes to Kaneki— _again_ , it’s not like Kaneki brought any clothes with him, save for the battle suit—and he tried to hold back a small chuckle as he saw that the clothes was a little oversized on Kaneki’s body. He sat on the bed, then, watching as Kaneki changed his clothes.

When Kaneki opened his shirt, Hide noticed that Kaneki was still as thin as he remembered him to be, although he appeared to be a little more muscular. And he could see them too—the faint scars on Kaneki’s body. The scars weren’t as many as he imagined it would be—probably from his healing factor—but still, he could see some thin lines scattered around Kaneki’s back. The most visible scar on Kaneki’s body was on his right side, the place where Amon managed to wound him, and Hide concluded that the wound was still healing. Maybe that was what made Kaneki felt pretty tired.

Hide realized that he had been staring to Kaneki’s body for too long when the scars disappeared and it was covered by a white cloth—Kaneki has just finished changing his clothes. The white haired boy turned, to face the blond—who was still sitting on the bed—with a troubled expression.

Hide couldn’t help but smile. He shifted, situating himself into a half-lying position that didn’t hurt his side too much as he patted the empty space beside him. Kaneki looked at him with an indescribable uncertainty, and Hide snorted as he patted the empty space beside him again.

“Come on, let’s sleep, you’re tired too, right?” Hide said, still patting the space beside him. “Just think that this is the usual sleepovers that we had years ago, Kaneki. Come on, don’t be shy!”

Kaneki took a deep breath, and then he approached the bed closer and sat on it, before shifting a little into a lying position. Hide grinned, and he shifted too so he could lie on his uninjured side. He took a deep breath, and then he closed his eyes.

Hide could feel Kaneki shift, and there was a sound of soft sigh. Before his consciousness fades away into the land of dream, he could hear Kaneki’s soft voice—“Good night, Hide.”

-x-

Kaneki didn’t remember when he felt this peaceful in his entire sleep.

After Yamori kidnapped him—or was it after he was turned into a ghoul, he couldn’t quite remember—all his nights were filled with fear, nightmares, Rize and Yamori’s voice telling him to eat something and a red centipede and _what’s one thousand minus seven?_

Sometimes, his dream started out nice before darkness engulfs him and he saw Hide’s death in his dreams.

However, this night, it was different. The dream started out nice, and it continues to be as nice and as peaceful as he used to dream before he met Rize, and for the first time in months, he feels at ease in his sleep.

And he never slept this long after Yamori kidnapped him too. When he regained some of his consciousness back by waking up, he felt rested—he couldn’t feel the constant ache in his body or the headache that probably was always present or anything else. He felt like he was born anew.

Kaneki became more surprised when he found that Hide was holding him close in his sleep. The blond wasn’t awake yet, judging by his even breathing and closed eyelids. Hide’s hand was draped across Kaneki’s body—and the white haired boy felt protected, just like that. Hide’s body was warm, and just like that, Kaneki felt pretty sleepy again. He shifted, inching closer to the blond’s body and leaning his head against Hide’s chest.

When he did, though, Hide shifted in his sleep and his lips curved upwards to form a smile. His hand, which was resting on Kaneki’s hip, trailed upwards and rested on the top of Kaneki’s head, ruffling the soft white strands slightly.

“You’re being straightforward, Kaneki,” Hide whispered, opening one of his eyes to plant his gaze on Kaneki in front of him. Kaneki opened his eyes too, leaving it half-lidded while smiling at Hide.

“Good morning,” Hide greeted, ruffling Kaneki’s hair once again. “How was your sleep?”

“It was good,” Kaneki replied before yawning once again, shifting closer to Hide’s body. He didn’t want to get up yet—it was the first time he felt pretty rested after he became a half-ghoul, anyway, he really wanted to sleep again.

Kaneki didn’t remember falling asleep, so when he woke up alone in the bed, he was quite surprised. He sat on the bed, rubbing his eyes with his hands before yawning once again—but this time; he got up from the bed and walked out from the room.

Hide was sitting on the dining chair, eating something—it looked like a bowl of instant ramen, Kaneki thought—and there were two cups of steaming coffee on the table too. Hide looked up from his food, noticing that Kaneki was awake already and then he flashed the white haired boy a grin.

“Are you awake now, sleepyhead?” Hide asked, and Kaneki responded with a smile as he walked closer to the dining table. He took a sip of the coffee, blinking a few times to find it quite good—and just that time he realized that it was the first time that he drank the coffee which Hide made for him.

He didn’t notice that Hide was staring at him until he placed the cup back on the table. Hide didn’t ask him anything, but it was still clear from his expression that Hide was waiting for Kaneki’s comment on his coffee.

“It was good—don’t worry,” Kaneki said, lifting the cup back to his lips as he drank the coffee again. Hide heaves out a sigh in relief, and he smiled back at Kaneki as he continued to eat. Kaneki was watching him, and Hide looked like he was pretty hungry—well, maybe he was, Kaneki just remembered that Hide hadn’t eaten anything else beside his breakfast the day before.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Kaneki asked after Hide finally finished his meal, and the blond blinked at him. Hide smiled, taking his own cup of coffee before answering, “You looked like you had a good sleep, and I guess you haven’t had any good sleeps in awhile—so I let you sleep. You looked pretty peaceful, you know…”

Kaneki chuckled a little, sipping his coffee again before responding. “Thank you for not waking me up, then. I felt pretty good.”

“It’s good to know that, buddy,” Hide grinned, getting up from the chair as he picked his dirty bowl and bringing it to the sink. He didn’t wash it yet, though; probably because he felt lazy for the time. He walked back to the chair that he was sitting on before, crossing his arms together and placing it on top of the table before grinning at Kaneki—who was just finishing his coffee, and eyeing Hide’s half-empty cup of coffee with a wanting gaze.

“So, what’s your plan for the day?” Hide asked, and Kaneki lifted his gaze to met Hide’s eyes before he placed his cup back on the table.

“Like I said yesterday—I’m going to tell Touka-chan,” Kaneki answered, then his eyes trailed downwards again. There was a hint of sadness reflected on his eyes as he took in a deep breath. “Maybe she’s staying with Yomo-san, and I hope Hinami-chan’s there too. I’ll go by myself after this.”

“Eh, why do you want to go by yourself?” Hide pouted a little, resting his chin on his hand. “Can’t I go with you? I want to know more about your friends too, Kaneki.”

Kaneki lifted his gaze again; hesitation was clear on his eyes. “But—Hide, you’re still injured. You need to rest. And what if the doves—or other ghouls are around? It’s dangerous, Hide.”

“Did it make any difference if you go by yourself? It’ll be even more dangerous, Kaneki,” Hide pursed his lips, leaning his back against the chair’s backrest as he crosses his arms. “No matter what you say, I’ll still go with you.”

“But Hide—” Kaneki started, but he fell silent once again as Hide sent him a glare. There was a moment of heavy silence settle between them, and both of them are glaring at the other before Kaneki sighed, finally breaking his gaze with Hide’s. “… Fine, you can go with me.”

At that, Hide visibly brightens before he got up from his chair. He walked to Kaneki’s side, taking the white-haired boy’s hand as he half-tugged it. “Alright, what are we waiting for? Let’s get ready!”

The change in Hide’s mood was drastic, Kaneki could notice—it was almost like he was flipping the light switch—and Kaneki tried hard to not smile, really; but he just couldn’t help it.

They got ready, and in fifteen minutes they were already wrapped in their own coats—more like _Hide’s_ coats, and Kaneki thought he should probably buy some new clothes or just go back to his apartment and take some of his clothes—and Hide looked pretty excited. This time, Kaneki had a medical eye patch on—they bought some on the way back from hospital the day before.

“Come on,” Hide grinned, tugging Kaneki’s hand as they left the apartment. “Show me the way, Kaneki~”

Kaneki didn’t comment, but then he showed Hide the way to Yomo’s place.

Yomo’s place was quite far from Hide’s—they had to take a bus to get there without wasting too much energy—and when they were sitting side by side on the bus, Kaneki recalled back the time when he and Hide were still kids. They used to go together like this, sitting side by side as they took the bus and chatting about unnecessary things. They would laugh at each other’s jokes, or sometimes it was just Hide who was talking to keep Kaneki smiling and forgetting about his bad day, or probably it was Kaneki who was telling Hide excitedly about the new novel that he bought the week before, or sometimes they were just silent as they enjoyed the ride.

Just remembering these times, Kaneki felt a warm feeling blossoming in his chest.

“You were thinking about our childhood, weren’t you?” Hide’s voice reached his ears, and he looked away from the window to the blond beside him. He was smiling, and another warm feeling blossomed in his chest, seeing that smile. “I was just thinking about that too. Did you remember that time when you accidentally spilled your milk on me?”

Oh, God. He did remember that time very well. He was just going to drink his milk before the bus stopped suddenly. He couldn’t remember how—more like, he couldn’t understand how—it happened, though. When he regained his senses back that time, Hide was already drenched.

Kaneki concluded that he might be blushing very hard because Hide was laughing at him, patting his back slightly. “Man—that was ridiculous! We were lucky because we were heading home, right? Oh God—and you look like a tomato right now, Kaneki—ahaha!”

Kaneki thought that he had forgotten on how to laugh properly—but really, just from Hide’s laugh and the memory; he managed to let out a light laugh. Just like that, he and Hide was laughing softly on their seat.

Really, he felt like he was back to be a young boy once again, just from laughing with Hide like this.

They then started talking about their childhood, bringing back up some embarrassing memories as they continued the bus ride. It wasn’t too long after before they had to stop and get off from the bus.

Yomo’s place wasn’t very far from the bus stop, and Kaneki remembered where it was—but his legs felt as if it was rooted to the spot. He wasn’t thinking about what if Touka didn’t want to see him anymore, what if Touka and the others will be in danger if he visited them—but once again, he wanted them to know that he was alive so he hoped that no one will do anything stupid.

Hide was still smiling from their talk before, but when he noticed that Kaneki was tense once again, his smile disappeared. He took a step closer to the boy, a frown was visible on his face before he asked, “Kaneki, are you okay? Is something wrong?”

He was quite startled by Hide’s question, but he only lifted his gaze back to Hide. Kaneki took a deep breath; then he shook his head. “No, it’s… I just hope that everyone will be fine even after I visited them.”

“Ah,” Hide mumbled, then reaching out to take Kaneki’s hand. “Don’t worry about that, they can take care of themselves, right? Let’s go to meet them.”

Kaneki took a deep breath, and then he nodded. Maybe he was just thinking too much.

They started walking to Yomo’s place, side by side as Kaneki shows the way. It didn’t take more than ten minutes to reach Yomo’s house, and even though Hide had reassured him that it will be okay, Kaneki’s heart skips a beat.

They were five steps away from knocking Yomo’s front door, and Kaneki tugged Hide’s sleeve to make him stop walking. The blond stopped as Kaneki tugged on his sleeve harder, although he sent Kaneki a questioning glance. Kaneki shook his head, indicating that he was just needing some time before taking a deep breath.

_It’s going to be fine, isn’t it?_

Kaneki approached Yomo’s door, then he knocked three times. He could hear some voices from inside—a girl, maybe that’s Touka’s voice? Why did she sound so annoyed?—and he held his breath when the door opened rather harshly.

“Tsukiyama, I swear to God if you’re back to weep more, I—” Touka started, but then she stopped talking. Her eyes were wide as she gaped at Kaneki, and the white haired boy could hear Hinami’s voice and footsteps coming from inside.

“Onee-chan, who is it—” And in a second, Hinami was there too, and she stopped right beside Touka. Her expression was the same as Touka’s, then, mouth hanging open in a slight gape as they looked at Kaneki as if they had seen a ghost.

Well, Kaneki thought maybe he was a ghost to them. He disappeared after the Anteiku raid, anyway—so their reaction wasn’t very surprising at all.

Kaneki took a deep breath, and then he smiled.

“I’m home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter's disappointing. Ahahahahaha.
> 
> Comments and ideas for upcoming chapters are appreciated~

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry this is crap but ahhhh
> 
> Also sorry that it's so short and dark and confusing??? I'll try to do better for the next chapter ;v;)


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